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USD 10 Cent
The dime is a coin worth ten cents or one tenth of a United States dollar. The dime's value is labeled as "one dime," since the term 'dime' also applies to a unit of currency worth 10 cents or 1/10 of a dollar. The dime is the smallest in diameter and the thinnest of all U.S. coins currently minted for circulation like some other currencies' dimes. The Thirty Second President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, is featured on the obverse of the current design, while a torch, oak branch, and olive branch covering the motto E Pluribus Unum are featured on the reverse. Roosevelt Dime In 1946, Sinnock had a limmited amount of time to design the dime. In fourty years, he completed the design of the dime, first rejected in 1945. Some found the design copied from an African-American's design. This was denied and Sinnock claimed that he used the design from a medal. The reverse design elements of a torch, olive branch, and oak branch symbolized, respectively, liberty, peace, and victory. Later, from the Coinage Act of 1965, the dime replaced the 90% silver and 10% copper content with a cupro-nickel clad composition similar to the USD 25 Cent. Since 1992, as with the quarter and half dollar, proofs are struck in the standard composition as well as in the pre-1964 90% silver composition. There was a minor controversy surrounding the "JS" initials in the late 1940s due to urban legends that they stood for the communist leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin. In 2003, a group of conservative Republicans in Congress proposed removing Roosevelt's image from the dime, and replacing it with that of President Ronald Reagan, although he was still alive. Legislation to this effect was introduced in November 2003 by Indiana Representative Mark Souder. Amongst the more notable opponents of the legislation was Nancy Reagan, who in December 2003 stated that, "When our country chooses to honor a great president such as Franklin Roosevelt by placing his likeness on our currency, it would be wrong to remove him." After President Reagan's death in June 2004, the proposed legislation gained additional support. Souder, however, stated that he was not going to pursue the legislation any further. Today one can find dimes from 1946 to present. There have been no reports that a date was not distributed. Liberty or "Mercury" head dimes These dimes were minted from 1916 to 1945 and had Lady Liberty's head on the obverse. Mint mark is located next to the E in "Liberty" on the reverse, except for Philadelphia. Facts *In 1916, Denver mint only made 264,000 Mercury dimes. Today these coins are very rare. Other key dates include the 1921, 1921-D, 1926-S, and 1931-S. *The coin was made of .900 fine silver. Barber dimes Dimes from 1892 until 1916 featured a rendition of Liberty by Charles Barber, also responsible for the renditions on the quarter and half dollar coins of the era. The appropriate mintmark (O, D, or S) will appear under the wreath on the reverse, taken from the Seated dime reverse. Facts *The 1894-S dimes are proof-only issues, of which 24 were struck. Category:US Coins